Oakley: Bubba Watson Can’t Stop Rolling His Own Way

Memorable

Effective

Style

Heart or Humor

Execution

The Oakley sportswear brand has always been synonymous with quality, refined style and is a little different. In this campaign, they bring in Bubba Watson as their face and voice of the modern athlete. Here, we pick apart this TV ad and give our 2 cents on the aspects that really matter. Take a look at our scores below and see if our thoughts match your own.

Memorability – 7 / 10

A very catchy and “cool” initial 20 seconds takes the ad a long way into a sports fan’s sense of romanticism. Much of the time, the most memorable sports adverts are those that show us a side to a sport that is unrealistic or outside of the normal boundaries of play. How important is it that Bubba can juggle a golf ball on his club before smashing it on the volley? While it’s totally useless in regards to conventional golf practices, it’s spectacular and unique in terms of making an impactful impression. The most memorable feature of this ad is near the beginning, which definitely delivers a print on the mind, especially for sports minded viewers.

Effectiveness – 7 / 10

Aimed at the upper middle class, golfing American male, the ad hits essential messages convincingly. It speaks to modern middle-aged and millennial men with a clear embrace of “being your own kind of brave”. Particularly impatient viewers will feel there are several seconds of footage of the clip that can be shaved off to make the overall sequence run with more speed and sharpness. Many golfing fans are likely to appreciate the stripped-back and slowed down nature of the piece.

Style – 7 / 10

Golden inspirational lighting plays a huge role in the first scenes, and the contrast of environments across the following acts helps to support the key notion of differentiation. Like the game itself, the ad feels slow and laid back. It’s not rushed or crammed with content which makes it refreshingly slow paced and brings further clarity to the core message. Does it keep you excited or build to a huge climax? No. For some, this is a negative, but to many within the target audience, it will feel appropriate to the genre covered.

Heart or Humor – 7 / 10

More heart than humor keeps the ad in sync with the subject matter. The lead character himself does not stand for humor and pandering to an audience. Instead, he personifies restraint, reserved distinction and handling matters with precision rather than bravado. He doesn’t want to be loud, he wants to be respected for his focus and unique approach. These ideals appeal directly to the typical attitudes of men in the target demographic, most of whom would more often place sophistication over flare.

Execution – 7 / 10

For a brand that should surely be interested in engaging a new generation of young fans, an opportunity has been missed to create a sequence that places the sport in a far more energetic light. This comes across as a piece that aims to reinforce Oakleys established connections with their largest core market. To that effect, it has done a great job of highlighting the increasingly popular notion of being different, using a spokesman who stands for grace over buzz and painting an alluring picture of the label’s ability to stand out for the right reasons.